Tackling rising inflation in sectoral collective wage bargaining

After a long period of price stability, inflation has made a remarkable comeback in the EU. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis spurred by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the disruption of the international supply chain, among other factors, have driven u...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rodríguez Contreras, Ricardo|||0000-0001-9561-2680, Molina Romo, Óscar|||0000-0002-8660-8919
Tipo de recurso: libro
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:283056
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/283056
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.2806/004554
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Minimum wage
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Pay and income
Collective bargaining
Agreements
Descripción
Sumario:After a long period of price stability, inflation has made a remarkable comeback in the EU. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis spurred by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the disruption of the international supply chain, among other factors, have driven up the prices of commodities and goods. While nominal wages picked up in 2021 and 2022, real wage growth has remained below inflation, affecting mainly low-income groups. Even though EU institutions expect inflation to slowly decline by 2025, many collective bargaining rounds have barely been able to keep up with the rapid increase in prices in 2022. Consequently, trade unions' demands for compensation and pay increases in collectively agreed wages put pressure on some sectors. Updating minimum wages (in line with the directive on adequate minimum wages) plays a key role in protecting the purchasing power of low wages. With wages not keeping up with inflation rates, tensions may resurface in social dialogue and collective bargaining over the coming years.